Board plan to illustrate Formby’s heritage

Formby Parish Council is planning to install a heritage board in the village, similar to this one photographed on a visit to Frodsham

FORMBY’S past could be brought back to life thanks to a series of Heritage Boards.

Members of the council have approached Formby Civic Society with a view to funding one or more boards, which would illustrate Formby’s development and key pieces of heritage.

Cllr Sean Brady admired the system in place in Frodsham and believes the Civic Society has the resources and historical data to be able to create something similar.

He said: “In Frodsham the main board uses a map and captioned old photographs, showing sites of interest as they were in their hey day. Then when you get to each property, even if the original structure has been replaced by modern buildings, there is the local equivalent of a blue plaque. I think it’s a very clever idea because people can learn about what was once there, even if it’s long gone.”

Dr Reg Yorke, vice-chairman of Formby Civic Society, said: “This is something we are keen to support – a small working group has started looking at the examples in use in other areas and Frodsham is not a bad comparison, as it’s similar to Formby size-wise. Hopefully we should have something completed by the end of this year.”

Formby Civic Society has now completed its project to digitise its photographic archives. A presentation has been made to members and it will be available to interested parties.